The Kerala cabinet Wednesday(August3, 2011) asked the state-owned National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC) to prepare a feasibility report on the setting up of a monorail system here.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told reporters about this development after the weekly cabinet meeting here.

The 28-km monorail from Balaramapuram to Kazhakootam is expected to link the Technopark campus and would pass through the central railway station.

“If this becomes a reality, then it would be a huge impetus to the state’s premier IT destination because today it is the traffic snarls that take away whatever advantage Technopark offers,” said an IT official.

According to experts, the monorail facility won’t involve acquiring of fresh land as it is a single rail which will be erected on a track above the existing roads.

According to a government official, the monorail project can be finished in three years’ time once the project is cleared.

The National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (Natpac) will soon conduct a feasibility study on the proposed monorail, a Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS), along the Kazhakuttom-Balaramapuram corridor of the capital.

The government had last week asked Natpac to carry out the feasibility study on introducing monorail on the 28-km corridor and to submit the report at the earliest. Sources in Natpac said the organisation was awaiting the government order to begin the feasibility study and the notification to this effect was expected in a day or two.

A strategic team would be constituted with experts from various fields to conduct the study, the official said.

A meeting of the heads of various wings of Natpac is scheduled for Tuesday. Among the various scientific divisions in Natpac, it is the Transportation Planning and Road Safety wing that normally undertakes studies on mass transport system, urban transport, goods transport, demand modelling and forecasting, road network planning, among other things.

Natpac, which has successfully completed 500 consultancy and research projects, has equipment such as Total Station, Theodolite and GPS at the centre for carrying out engineering surveys. “Preparations such as collection of traffic data has started,” the official said.

Although Natpac has been given the corridor for the proposed monorail, it would have to identify the route of the proposed MRTS. Natpac will decide on whether to have the monorail via Kariyavattom, Sreekariyam, Uloor, Kesavadasapuram, Pattom, PMG, M.G. Road, Overbridge, East Fort, Attakulangara, Karamana to Balaramapuram or to go in for Technopark-NH Bypass, Venpalvattom, Anamughom, Kumarapuram, Pottakuzhi to reach Pattom.

Monorail has been mooted for the State capital as part of a long-term and economical solution to transportation problems and to discourage personalised modes of transport.

The decreasing dependence on personalised mode of transport once monorail is introduced will result in bringing down road accidents also. It is estimated that 40 per cent of the present traffic can be taken off the road from the capital city once monorail comes.

The 28-km corridor is estimated to cost about Rs.1,500 crore and the Economic Internal Rate of Return (EIRR) of the project is likely to be over 20 per cent.

The attempt is also aimed at improving mass transportation and increasing its present modal share of about 35 per cent in Thiruvananthapuram to about 60 per cent as recommended by the Ministry of Urban Development.

Among the mass rapid transit system (underground or elevated rail system), monorail and bus rapid transit system, monorail is the most suited system for the volume of passenger traffic and the conditions prevailing on the arterial roads in medium-sized cities such as Thiruvananthapuram.

In a State where land acquisition is the biggest hurdle to development projects, the primary advantage of monorail is that it requires minimal space, both horizontally and vertically.

Monorail vehicles are wider than the beam, thus requiring only a minimal footprint for support pillars.

Niw that it has been proposed to extend it to Attingal , I hope that Natpac study will take care of that also.

My wish is to further extend from Balaramapuram to Neyyattinkara ub the other end so that the 2 suburban cities are coneected.

Cheers!!!

:-) bro that could be great. But there are some problems for that. I live in nta and to the best of my knowledge its very difficult to construct monorail to nta. As the highway pass through a series of hills which make it difficult for the rail to be laid over head. i think i won't get the luck to travel in monorail from my home town due to terrain problems.....

Niw that it has been proposed to extend it to Attingal , I hope that Natpac study will take care of that also.

My wish is to further extend from Balaramapuram to Neyyattinkara ub the other end so that the 2 suburban cities are coneected.

Cheers!!!

Gentlemen, before we lose the plot let me point out that a monorail will cost Rs 150 Cr/ Km, so it will be quite unviable to begin with a very long stretch. Neyyatinkara to Attingal would be over 30 Kms, a cost of at least Rs 4500 Cr, about twice that of Phase I for Vizhinjam. The best option would be to start with a much more affordable and practical stretch between Kazhakkootam to Pappanamcode, and then go for expansion in phases. Moreover, no transit system works with a single route as ridership would be low, instead it will be best to adopt multiple routes as well as plan for multi-modal transit using buses as well as commuter rail.

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The traffic survey for the monorail project in the city, the first step in the feasibility study being carried out by the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (Natpac), was completed along the Attingal-Neyyattinkara stretch on Friday night.

The survey in which the volume of traffic on the main road and side roads was physically counted was completed on the Aralumoodu-Neyyattinkara stretch of the NH 47 bypass passing through the capital. The survey on the Palayam-Overbridge stretch that has been postponed in view of the agitations and dharnas in front of the Secretariat and the Legislative Assembly will be taken up later.

“We are trying to take up the stretch along the arterial road and complete the work by Monday,” Tomy Cyriac, Senior Scientist, Natpac, told The Hindu. Although the government had asked Natpac to carry out the feasibility study along the 28-km Kazhakuttam-Balaramapuram corridor, the authorities carried out the traffic survey on the Attingal-Neyyattinkara stretch anticipating future needs like Technocity and in view of the rapid urbanisation.

The traffic survey that commenced on September 26 from Ulloor was carried out in stretches all the way to Attingal and later from Ulloor to Medical College, Murinjapalam and Pattom and via Kesavadasapuram to Palayam. The enumerators sat on the road and side roads in the stretch from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. physically counting the vehicles that moved along during the period.

Although Natpac has been given the corridor for the proposed monorail, it would have to identify the route of the proposed mass transport system. The major boarding points for the public transport system such as Statue, Palayam, Thampanoor and Technopark have been given the emphasis. Since the government has in principle agreed to give 1.5 to 2 hectares in the proposed Technocity, land acquisition will not be a problem for the yard for the proposed monorail. Sources said efforts were on to identify government land on the Balaramapuram-Neyyattinkara stretch also for the monorail.

Mr. Cyriac said Natpac would soon start opinion survey, household survey, survey of major alighting and boarding points, and bus stops along the corridors as part of the feasibility study. Along with this, the analysis of the traffic survey would be carried out. “We are keen to complete the study and submit the report within the two months time-frame given to us by the government,” he said. Once the feasibility study report is submitted, it is for the government to come up with a Detailed Project Report and mode of implementation.

Monorail has been mooted for the capital as part of a long-term and economical solution to transportation problems and to discourage personalised modes of transport. It is estimated that 40 per cent of the present traffic can be taken off the city roads once monorail comes.

It seems that the Kerela government is putting due emphasis on infrastructure (Kochi metro, Trivandrum monorail and even High Speed Rail). This is good to know as Kerela deserves only the best (it being the most educated state of India)...

It seems that the Kerela government is putting due emphasis on infrastructure (Kochi metro, Trivandrum monorail and even High Speed Rail). This is good to know as Kerela deserves only the best (it being the most educated state of India)...

Given that transport works best when people live along focussed transport corridors i.e large numbers of people living along transport routes (Mumbai local trains for example) Kerala is an ideal place for such projects. If one travels in Kerala, you would see that population is distributed evenly throughout the State.

The Chief Minister said that the feasibility study for the 28 km monorail project between Balaramapuram and Kazhakoottam in Thiruvananthapuram would be widened to cover extension of the rail to Mangalapuram and Neyyattinkara. The decision was taken considering representations from members of Parliament and Assembly. Further steps would be taken on the proposal for monorail in Kozhikode. The feasibility report for the project was ready.

The State Govt.has amended the order of feasibility study duration to two months for the feasibility study of Monorail System in Thiruvananthapuram.The feasiblity study will be done by National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC).The monorail is proposed along Balaramapuram,Karamana,Thampanoor,M.G Road,Ulloor,Kazhakkoottam. Recently,the state cabinet has decided to extend the system to Neyyattinkara and Mangalapuram.

Private consultants are on the race to get the consultancy services of the proposed Balaramapuram-Technocity/Mangalapuram monorail project.The state owned NATPAC is in the final stages of the feasibility studies and is expected to submit the report by the end of December 2011.